Enriching the early childhood expertise of elementary school principals: Can a one‐shot college course make a difference?

Abstract

A summer course was specifically designed for principals and aspiring principals to help them become more expert in principles of early childhood education. During the pilot, 10 volunteer participants completed a survey of beliefs on early childhood education before and after the course and submitted a piece of reflective writing each day. Gains in participant knowledge were most notable in the following areas: awareness of best practices in the area of kindergarten screening and familiarity with NAEYC and the accompanying research base of the field. Each participant planned a transformation project, choosing one aspect of the course to implement in the workplace. Through these projects, participants began using NAEYC materials to evaluate and mentor classroom teachers, redesign kindergarten screening programs, and overhaul approaches to parent involvement.

Keywords:

• Early childhood
• Childhood education
• Elementary school

Notes

Corresponding author. Tel.: [phone]; fax: [phone]. E‐mail addresses: [email protected] (J.J. Henry), [email protected] (M. Barnett).

Tel: [phone]; fax: [phone].